A student at St Philomena’s Catholic High School for Girls in Carshalton voiced concerns to PinkNews.co.uk that pupils from 11 to 18 years of age had been “encouraged” to sign the anti-equality pledge by the school’s headmistress.

Herein lies what I consider to be one of the inherent problems with faith schools. These schools are foisting the dogmatic religious views of the teachers and the parents on the children: they exist to stamp out independent thought. A young gay child growing up attending these schools is trapped in a hostile environment.

Children should, of course, have religious freedom: they should not be brought up in a bubble of fear and fairy stories.